EPISODE 182- NIKKI M. JAMES

 Nikki M. James most famously, originated the role of Nabalungi in the Broadway hit musical, Book of Mormon, for which she won the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. After her award winning performance, Nikki went on to star as Éponine in the 2014 Broadway revival of Les Misérables. James starred on the Fox series Proven Innocent.

James received rave reviews for her starring role as Viveca in Kirsten Child’s musical The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin in Encores! Off-Center production at City Center. The musical review was an ambitious follow up to Nikki’s portrayal of Portia, Brutus’ proud wife, in The Public Theatre’s extremely press worthy and politically prescient version of Julius Caesar at Shakespeare in the Park in 2017. Nikki reprised her role of Viola in the musical version of Twelfth Night this past summer under the direction of Oskar Eustis at the Delacorte Theatre.
 
Recent notable work in television includes a starring role in CBS’ quirky series Braindead and a recurring guest arc on the hit series The Good Wife, CBS’ Bull, Escape From Dannemora on Showtime and reprised her role of Monica from The Good Wife on the CBS All Access series The Good Fight. Her film credits include: Lucky Stiff and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.  

She has also performed several sold-out, one-woman cabaret shows at popular New York City venues such as 54 Below and Joe’s Pub.
 
No stranger to Broadway, Nikki has starred in productions of All Shook Up and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Other memorable theater productions include; Romeo and Juliet, Caesar and Cleopatra alongside Christopher Plummer, The Wiz, Bernarda Alba, House of Flowers and Preludes. 
 
She resides in New York City and holds a BFA in Drama from NYU.

EPISODE 181- DOMINIC FUMUSA LIVE FROM NOTRE DAME

Dominic Fumusa is best known for playing "Kevin Peyton" opposite Edie Falco on Showtime's acclaimed show "Nurse Jackie" which ran for seven seasons from 2009-2015. Fumusa's extensive theater experience includes originating roles in the NY premieres of Sarah Ruhl's Stage Kiss and Passion Play, Richard Greenberg's Tony Award winning Take Me Out (NY and London), Melissa James Gibson's Obie Award winning [sic] and Stephen Belber's plays The Power of Duff, Fault Lines and Tape (NY, London and Los Angeles). His Broadway debut was in the 1998 revival of Wait Until Dark opposite Marisa Tomei and Quentin Tarantino. Select regional theater credits include numerous plays at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, the Stratford Festival in Canada, the Huntington Theater in Boston, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and the Humana Festival at the Actors Theater of Louisville. Fumusa's film work includes playing the real life hero John "Tig" Tiegen in this year's 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi directed by Michael Bay, The Report with Adam Driver and Sweet Girl opposite Jason Momoa. Fumusa appeared opposite Will Smith and Margot Robbie in the romantic comedy Focus. Other film work includes Allegiance, Helena from the Wedding, Management and Little New York. Other television work includes upcoming recurring roles on "Homeland" (Showtime) and "Taken"(NBC). He has also had numerous guest and recurring roles on such shows as "Blue Bloods," "Elementary," "Person of Interest," "Damages," "Sex and the City," "The Sopranos," "Bones" and many others. Fumusa earned his BA in Government from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI in 1991 and his MFA in Acting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1994. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife, actress and producer Ilana Levine, and their two children, Georgia and Caleb. 

EPISODE 178- KORI WITHERS & CHRIS STILLS

Chris Stills is a celebrated troubado ur who ’s releases include h is debut album 100 Year Thing produced by Ethan Johns, on through to the eponymous Chris Stills and most - recently, Don’t Be Afraid where Chris reconnected with that “California kid who loves Leon Russell and Tom Petty” . Raised between California and France, Chris has cultivate d his music internationally along side a successful a cting career where he’s played Julius Caesar in the top - grossing French musical Cleopatra - The Last Queen of Egypt . Stills went on to also appear opposite Mélanie Laurent in in the French film Requiem for a Killer and later landed a foot firmly in both music and acting camps when his contributions to the long - running U.S.hit series of Shameless led to a regular guest spot across two seasons of the show. Chris’s music is sought - after in film and television including his songs “Live To Live” on A merican Hustle and Black Betty in Hot Pursuit . He also sang the Bee Gees’ “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” in the 2018 Oscar ® winning movie I, Tonya . As a philanthropist, he’s the co - producer and musical director for “ Light Up the Blues ” - an annual concert to benefit Autism Speaks

Kori Withers is a recording artist and is the daughter of acclaimed artist Bill Withers and can be found at KoriWithers.com

EPISODE 177- MICHAEL ZEGEN

MICHAEL ZEGEN can currently be seen starring on the critically acclaimed Amazon series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” created by Amy Sherman-Palladino.  The series is recently won the 2019 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, a 2018 Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, the Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Television Series, Musical or Comedy and the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Comedy Series.  The show is returning for it’s third season on Friday, December 6th.

Previous television includes his standout recurring role as ‘Benny Siegel' on HBO's “Boardwalk Empire,” for which he was included in the 2015 SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.  Other recurring television arcs include: "The Walking Dead," "Girls," "How To Make It In America," "Happyish" and all seven seasons of "Rescue Me.”  Michael’s film credits include Noah Baumbach's FRANCES HA, John Crowley's Oscar-Nominated film BROOKLYN, Greg Mottola’s ADVENTURELAND, and Ang Lee’s TAKING WOODSTOCK.  

Earlier this year, he wrapped production on the independent feature “The Stand-In” opposite Drew Barrymore.  Michael was recently seen as 'Mikhail Medvedenko' in Michael Mayer's film adaptation of Anton Chekhov's THE SEAGULL, opposite Annette Bening and Elisabeth Moss. Other upcoming films include Sebastian Silva’s ensemble indie TYREL in which Michael appears alongside Michael Cera, Jason Mitchell and Caleb Landry Jones that premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival; and the musical film BECKS with Lena Hall.  

On stage, Michael starred as ‘Marco’ in the Broadway production of in Ivo Van Hove’s Tony-award winning "A View From The Bridge" opposite Mark Strong.  Michael’s previous theater credits include originating the role of ’Ted’ in The New Group's production of "The Spoils," written by and co-starring Jesse Eisenberg for director Scott Elliott and the role of ‘Liam’ in Joshua Harmon's smash hit play "Bad Jews” directed by Daniel Aukin for Roundabout Theater Co.

EPISODE 172- ELLA RUBIN

ELLA RUBIN can currently be seen in THE ROSE TATTOO on Broadway where she stars as Rosa, the daughter of Serafina, who is played by Marisa Tomei. On the big screen she has been featured in THE REWRITE, a film in which she also plays Marisa Tomei’s daughter. She can be seen on the small screen in the Hulu series DIFFICULT PEOPLE, Showtime’s BILLIONS and UNFORGETTABLE on CBS. Ella studied theater and performing arts at New York’s Professional Children’s School.

Ella is an advocate for social change and raising awareness for climate change.  She recently enforced a new policy in her high school to turn the cafeteria entirely green, and enforce once a week “eco-awareness” day.  This summer she traveled to Tanzania to help build a kitchen at a school that didn’t have one (and therefore wasn’t able to serve lunch), and has also traveled to Peru to help enforce women’s access to education and to Costa Rica to learn about turtle conservation in their oceans. 

EPISODES 169 and 170 - WILLIE GARSON

Rarely at a loss for work, Garson has appeared in over 300 episodes of

television and more than 70 films. Garson is best known for his long

runs on television, as Mozzie on WHITE COLLAR, Stanford Blatch on SEX

AND THE CITY, and Henry Coffield on NYPD BLUE. Other TV series

include ASK HARRIET, and JOHN FROM CINCINNATTI. He has been

recurring as the grifter with a heart of gold Gerard Hirsch on "HAWAII

5-0" since 2015.

Born in New Jersey, he started training at The Actors Institute In New

York, before majoring in Psychology and Theater at Wesleyan

University. After graduation, he quickly started landing guest roles on

shows such as CHEERS, FAMILY TIES, THIRTYSOMETHING, LA LAW, as

well as continually recurring on a wide array of shows including XFILES,

TWIN PEAKS, TWO & A HALF MEN, STARGATE, PUSHING

DAISIES, THE PRACTICE, ALLY MCBEAL, JUST SHOOT ME, SPIN,

SALVATION, etc etc. His favorite longform on TV was Dr. Kreutz for

Steven Spielberg in the acclaimed miniseries TAKEN.

On the big screen, other than reprising his SEX & THE CITY role for two

features, he has collaborated with the Farrely Brothers on 3 films,

SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, KINGPIN, and FEVER PITCH, as well as

appearing in SOAPDISH, GROUNDHOG DAY, MARS ATTACKS, THE

ROCK, BEING JOHN MALKOVITCH, FEED, POLKA KING, and many

others. He has often been re-used by such varied directors as Spike

Jonze, Michael Bay, the late great Mike Nichols, and Ron Shelton.

Upcoming films include WALK TO VEGAS, MAGIC CAMP, and BELLMEN.

As a director, Garson has directed episodes of WHITE COLLAR and GIRL

MEETS WORLD, and, with Warner Brothers, is developing a half hour as

producer/creator, which he will also appear in. LONE PINE, a feature for

Garson to direct, is currently also in development.

Garson continues to perform with various bi-coastal theater companies

such as Naked Angles, Manhattan Theater Club, The Roundabout

Theater, and The Geffen. He is very involved with many charities,

including AMFAR, Camp Joslin for Diabetes, Doctors Without Borders,

Habitat for Humanity, and especially The Alliance for Childrens Rights,

which facilitates adoptions in LA County---this has a special place in the

Garson family, as Willie adopted his son Nathen in Los Angeles in 2010,

and has twice served as National Spokesman for National Adoption Day,

as well as winning the Francis Wheat Award from The Alliance, and

many others. Willie and Nathen speak about adoption nationwide.

Aside from acting, Garson is known as a world-class poker player,

having been nicknamed "Evil Willie" on the first episode of CELEBRITY

POKER SHOWDOWN, and continues to play in tournaments all over the

world, both for charity, and through the WORLD POKER TOUR.

EPISODE 165- CASSIDY FREEMAN

Cassidy Freeman stars as “Amber Gemstone” in the Danny McBride televangelist comedy THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES for HBO alongside McBride, John Goodman and Adam Devine. The series tells the story of a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed and charitable work. The series premiere was HBO's most-watched comedy debut in more than 3 years and was recently renewed for season 2.

Freeman’s diverse roles have allowed her to travel the world, from Vancouver to New York to Bolivia. She is well known for starring as “Cady Longmire” in LONGMIRE on Netflix and “Tess Mercer” in CW’s superhero drama SMALLVILLE. She has appeared on series such as ONCE UPON A TIME, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES and COLD CASE. Freeman co-executive produced and starred in horror-thriller YellowBrickRoad which premiered at Slamdance. Other film credits include DON’T LOOK BACK starring Lucy Griffiths and Kate Burton, IFC comedy film FINISHING THE GAME and indie feature BRAHMIN BULLS. On stage, she has appeared in Anthony Minghella’s Cigarettes and Chocolate and The Maids at the Moth Theatre.

Freeman was born and raised in Chicago, graduating Magna Cum Laude from Middlebury College with degrees in Theatre and Spanish. She is the youngest of three actor siblings.

EPISODE 164- SARAH STILES

Sarah Stiles is currently one of the stars in the critically acclaimed EPIX Original Series GET SHORTY. She was nominated for a Tony for her role as "Sandy" in the Broadway production of TOOTSIE. She is recurring on Showtime’s BILLIONS. She voiced the character “Spinel” in STEVEN UNIVERSE: THE MOVIE.

Broadway productions include her Tony nominated performance as Jessica in HAND TO GOD, ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREEVER, Kate/ Lucy AVENUE Q and THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNUM COUNTY SPELLING BEE.

Recent television and film credits include Steven Soderbergh's UNSANE. I’M DYIN UP HERE, BLACKLIST, DIETLAND and the animated SUNNY DAY for Nickelodeon. Sarah lends her voice on the recording of Pasek and Paul’s JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH. This year she penned her solo show SQUIRREL HEART which she performed to sold out audiences at Joe’s Pub at the Public in NYC

EPIOSDE 163- JOE MORTON

Emmy Award and multiple NAACP Image Award-winning film, television and stage veteran Joe Morton is perhaps best known for his role as Rowan Pope in the television series “Scandal.” Morton’s television credits include a recurring role as lawyer Daniel Golden on “The Good Wife,” on the Network; five seasons as scientist Henry Deacon in the Emmy-nominated series “Eureka”; “The Cosby Show” spinoff “A Different World”; the Kyra Sedgwick-produced “Proof”; and “Grace & Frankie.” In 2016 he portrayed the role of Roy Wilkins alongside Bryan Cranston in the Emmy-nominated biopic “All the Way,” adapted from the Tony Award-winning Robert Schenkkan play.

In 2016 Morton appeared in the feature film “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice” as Silas Stone, and he reprised the role in November 2017 in “Justice League.” His additional feature film credits include playing the title character in John Sayles’ “The Brother from Another Planet” and roles in “Terminator 2: Judgement Day,” “American Gangster,” “What Lies Beneath,” “Blues Brothers 2000” and “The Astronaut’s Wife.”

Recently, Morton starred as the titular role alongside Tom Hanks in Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles’ production of “Henry IV.” Staged by Tony Award-winning director Daniel Sullivan, the critically raved show featured Morton as Henry IV and Hanks as Sir John Falstaff. In spring 2016, Morton portrayed the groundbreaking comedian Dick Gregory in the one-man show “Turn Me Loose,” executive produced by Grammy Award winner John Legend. Morton was honored with the NAACP Theatre Lifetime Achievement Award and was awarded the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play. Also, he was nominated for the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance. In October 2017, he brought “Turn Me Loose” to Los Angeles at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Born in Harlem, Morton was raised in a military family and spent parts of his childhood in West Germany and Okinawa, Japan, before finishing school in New York. After attending Hofstra University, Morton debuted on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning musical “Hair,” followed by his starring role in “Raisin,” the Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun,” which earned him a Tony nomination and Theatre World Award for his portrayal as the embittered Walter Lee Younger. In addition, he appeared in David Hare’s “Stuff Happens” at the National Theatre in London as Colin Powell and played Serge in “Art” on Broadway (and in London’s West End) with Judd Hirsch and George Wendt.

Morton is a huge proponent of diversity in Hollywood and uses his platform to express the need for more contemporary non-white roles in television and film. Morton devotes his rare free time to writing, playing his guitar and recording music. Music has been a huge part of his life, and his talent has led him to write and score a multitude of songs for various film and TV projects.

EPISODE 160 - JUSTIN GUARINI

Justin Guarini’s robust performance career launched with the first season of American Idol in 2002. His stage and screen appearances since then include Broadway productions of American Idiot, Romeo and Juliet, Wicked, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

Justin has hosted shows shows like Idol Wrap and Idol Tonight along with live events for the TV Guide Network, the Oscars, the Emmys, and the Grammys. He continues to reprise his role as the lovable Lil’ Sweet in commercials for Diet Dr. Pepper.

Justin is a generous humanitarian: he has advocated for music education funding on Capitol Hill by lobbying for the International Music Products Association. He has worked with Education Through Music Los Angeles, a nonprofit utilizing music education as a catalyst to improve academic achievement, motivation for school, and self-confidence in underserved communities. Justin has also partnered with RandomActs.org and GISH.com to participate in global kindness campaigns.

In 2019, Justin founded The Warrior Artist Alliance to help performers achieve success in a challenging industry. He shares his tips, tricks, breadth of experience, and warrior mindset with a community of performers through podcasts, blogs, and dynamic training programs.

Justin is dedicated to his loving family; his wife, daughter, and sons make up his happy home. It is here that he draws his support and the desire to live his best life.

EPISODE 159- KATHRYN GALLAGHER

Kathryn Gallagher can currently be seen as Annika on Netflix’s mega hit show “YOU” produced by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, starring John Stamos, Penn Badgley and Shay Mitchell. This fall, Kathryn will play Bella in Alanis Morissette’s musical “Jagged Little Pill” based on the album, written with Diablo Cody and directed by Diane Paulus. In 2015 Kathryn made her Broadway debut in the Tony nominated revival of Spring Awakening. Kathryn’s music has had placements in film/TV such as “Younger” “Covert Affairs” and Stuart Blumberg’s “Thanks For Sharing.”

photo credit- Lindsay Byrnes

EPISODE 158- MICHAEL KELLY

With an expansive list of film and television credits spanning for more than 20 years, Michael Kelly is known best for his four-time Emmy-Nominated role as “Doug Stamper” in the critically acclaimed Netflix original series HOUSE OF CARDS, for which he starred in for all six seasons. Kelly can next be seen in season 2 of Carlton Cuse’s Amazon Prime Original Series JACK RYAN alongside John Krasinski and Wendell Pierce.

Recently, Kelly produced and starred in John Hyams’ ALL SQUARE, supported by Jesse Ray Sheps, Josh Lucas, and Pamela Adlon. He also starred in THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES opposite Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, and Chiwetel Ejiofor and in EVEREST opposite Josh Brolin, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Robin Wright. Additionally, he played “Lt. Col. Gary Volesky” in National Geographic’s miniseries THE LONG ROAD HOME and “Dumbarton” in BBC’s limited series TABOO opposite Tom Hardy.

In 2008, Kelly starred as “Detective Lester Ybarra” opposite Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich in Clint Eastwood’s CHANGELING, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was distributed by Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment. For his performance, Kelly received a coveted spot as one of “Daily Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch.”  That same year, Kelly starred in the HBO miniseries GENERATION KILL, which chronicled one Marine’s journey in the American-led assault on Baghdad in 2003. 

Kelly’s other feature film credits include Louis Leterrier’s NOW YOU SEE ME opposite Mark Ruffalo and Jesse Eisenberg, Zack Snyder’s MAN OF STEEL, the hit film CHRONICLE, George Nolfi’s THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, Doug Liman’s FAIR GAME opposite Sean Penn and Naomi Watts, F. Gary Gray’s LAW ABIDING CITIZEN alongside Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx, DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? with Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker, DEFENDOR with Woody Harrelson, INVINCIBLE opposite Mark Wahlberg, the Universal blockbuster DAWN OF THE DEAD directed by Zach Snyder, TENDERNESS starring Russell Crowe, THE NARROWS directed by Francois Velle, BROKEN ENGLISH  written and directed by Zoe Cassavetes, nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and LOGGERHEADS nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Kelly also appeared in M. Night Shyamalan’s UNBREAKABLE, Milos Forman’s MAN ON THE MOON and RIVER RED (Sundance Film Festival).

On television, Kelly has had recurring roles on the hit shows THE GOOD WIFE and PERSON OF INTEREST. He played the series regular role of “Jonathan ‘Prophet’ Simms” in CRIMINAL MINDS: SUSPECT BEHAVIOR, “Terrence Brooks” on LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT and “John Mosley” on FRINGE. Kelly also had the recurring role of “FBI Agent Ron Goddard” on THE SOPRANOS and was a series regular on the USA network television series KOJAK with Ving Rhames and Chazz Palminteri and the UPN action drama LEVEL 9.  He has also guest starred on numerous hit television shows, including BLACK MIRROR, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, LAW & ORDER: C.S.I. MIAMI, THE SHIELD, JUDGING AMY, THE JURY and THIRD WATCH.

A lifetime member of The Actor’s Studio, Kelly has performed in such plays as Arthur Penn’s production of Major Crimes, Theatre Studio’s Miss Julie as well as in a production of In Search of Strindberg staged in Stockholm, Sweden.

EPISODES 152 & 153- MARIN IRELAND

Broadway: Big Knife, After Miss Julie, reasons to be pretty (Tony nom, Theatre World Award). Selected Off-Broadway: Blue Ridge (Atlantic), Summer and Smoke (Transport Group/CSC), Three Sisters (CSC), Marie Antoinette, Blasted (Soho Rep), Maple and Vine (Playwrights Horizons), In the Wake, The Ruby Sunrise (Public), Lie of the Mind (New Group); Cyclone (Obie Award; Studio Dante), Far Away (NYTW), The Harlequin Studies (Signature), On the Exhale (Drama Desk nom, Solo Performance, Roundabout), Ironbound (Drama Desk nom, Rattlestick, Geffen Playhouse), Kill Floor (LCT3). Other: 4.48 Psychosis (Royal Court US tour), Troilus & Cressida (Wooster Group/RSC). Film: The Family Fang, Glass Chin (Independent Spirit Award nomination), 28 Hotel Rooms, Flint, Sparrows Dance, The Irishman, others. TV: “Sneaky Pete,” “The Slap,“"Masters of Sex,” “Girls,” “The Divide,” “Homeland", “Mildred Pierce,”others.

Photo credit Diana Ragland